Tarheel Plastics investing in second North Carolina plant

By: Michael Lauzon

March 7, 2013

LEXINGTON, N.C. -- Custom injection molder Tar­heel Plastics LLC plans to set up a second plant in North Carolina.

The Lexington, N.C., firm will invest about $2.5 million to $3.5 million to set up a molding facility in Mocksville, N.C., according to a news release from the Davie County Economic Development Commission.

"The new facility is needed because the company's current 110,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Lexington is at capacity with 62 full-time and eight part-time employees," said Craig Ward, Tarheel vice president of operations, in a news release. "The new location in Mocksville will also allow for additional expansion as necessary, beyond the 48 new jobs anticipated with this move."

Tarheel will occupy a building that has been vacant for several years. The project will be aided by a $480,000 Building Reuse Grant from the North Carolina Rural Center. The grant represents $10,000 for each job created. The building will be converted from a warehouse into a production operation.

The company will start renovating the building in April. Improvements will include structural support for a new crane, electrical upgrades, a new sprinkler system and pads to accommodate new silos.

The Mocksville plant will allow more workers in the mostly rural Davie County to be employed within the county, said Terry Bralley, president of the economic development commission.

"The average rural manufacturing wage is nearly a third higher than the average for other private, non-manufacturing jobs," Bralley said in a news release.

The commission noted that jobs are being repatriated to the U.S. after going offshore, because of rising labor and transportation costs and long lead times in foreign countries. Rural sourcing of jobs is another trend and allows companies to leverage a skilled workforce at lower cost than in urban areas.

Tarheel officials were not available to provide additional details on the expansion.